Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 807

Post o ce About 100m south of Chan-Cha-Lay on
Th Utrakit (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm, Sat 9am-noon).

fan-cooled, en-suite bamboo huts set around a garden
dotted with cashew trees, including four-person dorms.
It's about a 10mi n wal k from t he be ach at Hat Nopparat
Thara East. Dorm B200 , double B500
Wang Sai Beside the bridge at the far eastern end of Hat
Nopparat Thara T 075 638128. There are no reasonably
priced, authentic Thai restaurants left on Ao Nang proper,
but fortunately this place is just around the corner on the
main road, where you can get fried rice for as little as B80.
It offers good sunset views from its beachfront tables, an
enormous range of the freshest seafood and lots of
southern Thai specialities. Daily 10.30am-10pm.

AO NANG AND HAT NOPPARAT
THARA
AO NANG , 22km west of Krabi town, is a
busy, commercial resort that has seen
mass development over the years and
caters mainly for package tourists. Most
travellers who stop here do so in order to
take a longtail boat to nearby Laem Phra
Nang (Railay). hough the beach in Ao
Nang is no great shakes, the less-
developed western beach, Hat Nopparat
Thara , part of which comes under the
protection of a marine national park, is
prettier and more peaceful.
Ao Nang is Krabi's main hub for
snorkelling trips and dive shops - most
diving expeditions head to the reefs around
Ko Phi Phi and Ko Ha (near Ko Lanta). A
reputable firm is Poseidon, a few hundred
metres from the beach up the main access
road in front of Paradise Resort ( T 075
637263, W poseidon-diving.com), who
offer local two-dive trips for B2600, and
Openwater courses for B14,900.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By songthaew To reach Ao Nang, take a white
songthaew from Krabi bus station or town centre,
passing eastern Nopparat Thara en route (roughly
45min; B50-60).

10

LAEM PHRA NANG RAILAY
he stunning headland of Laem Phra
Nang is accessible only by boat, so staying
on one of its four beaches feels like being
on an island. he sheer limestone cliffs,
pure-white sand and emerald waters make
it a spectacular spot, though bungalows
have now been built in all the prime spots
so the whole place feels a little congested.
Furthest out on the headland, Ao Phra
Nang is the prettiest beach, with
luxuriously soft sand, reefs close to shore,
and luxury hotels. It's reached by a short
path from the southern end of East
Railay , which is not suitable for
swimming because of its fairly dense
mangrove growth and a tide that goes out
for miles, but has cheap accommodation.
Five minutes' walk away on the opposite
side of the headland, West Railay enjoys
impressive karst scenery, crystal-clear
water and a much longer stretch of good
sand. On the other side of a rocky
promontory from northern West Railay
(take a longtail or walk along the path
from East Railay in 20min), the beach at
Ao Ton Sai is coarse and littered with
rocks that make it impossible to swim at
low tide. Leafy and wedged between
towering limestone cliffs, this is the
travellers' beach, with budget bungalows
set among the palms several hundred
metres back from the shore, and regular
all-night beach parties at the beachfront
Freedom Bar and Chillout Bar .

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
With package holidays taking over, budget accommodation
is becoming increasingly hard to find. There's a small night
market in front of Krabi Resort , on the main road about
200m from the main beachfront, heading towards
Nopparat Thara. Locals eat at the seafood restaurants in
the national park visitors' centre car park, which is at the
west end of Nopparat Thara's eastern beach.
AusThai Hotel 1km from the beach up the main access
road, Ao Nang T 081 719 1748. This friendly, recently built
place has a variety of options with a/c and hot showers
(the more expensive rooms with b alconie s) and can rent
motorbikes. Free wi-fi. Dorm B350 , double B800
Laughing Gecko Soi Hat Nopparat Thara 13 T 081 270
5028, E [e-mail] . Perhaps the last
of the old-style bungalows left in the Ao Nang area, this is
an easy-going and exceptionally traveller-friendly haven
run by a Thai-Canadian couple, with nightly all-you-can-
eat Thai buffets. Choose from a range of simple, thatched,

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By boat Longtail boats to the cape depart when full from
the pier on Th Kong Ka in Krabi town and dock at East
Railay (roughly 45min), from where it's easy to cut across